Michigan Avenue getting ready for Oprah

September 07, 2009

The staging area for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" outside the Tribune Tower. (Jeremy Gorner/Chicago Tribune) | MORE PHOTOS

Oprah Winfrey is taking over the Magnificent Mile.

Three blocks of Michigan Avenue were shut down beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday to prepare for the broadcast of the show that will kick off the 24th season of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Here are some details about the event:

The street will be closed to vehicular traffic from Wacker Drive to Ohio Street until 5 a.m. Wednesday. The sidewalks will be open for pedestrians, and there will be access to all buildings in that stretch of Michigan Avenue. The city says that it may close the Michigan Avenue bridge to pedestrian traffic during the taping of the show.

A stage will be constructed on Michigan Avenue just north of the Michigan Avenue Bridge for the show, which will tape for two hours beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday and will be broadcast on Sept. 10. Musical artists The Black Eyed Peas, illusionist Criss Angel and Oscar winner and singer Jennifer Hudson will be guests on the show.

The general-audience entrance for the event, at the intersection of Michigan and Ohio, will open at noon Tuesday; the public will have no access to the area before then, the show said. Handicapped access will be available on Cityfront Plaza Drive about one block east of Michigan Avenue.

Admission is free, on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached. Harpo Productions, the show's producers, expects a crowd in the "thousands." All ages are welcome, but minors must be accompanied by an adult.

There will be no seating. This event is standing-room only -- unless, of course, you are on the stage with Oprah. According to Angela DePaul, a spokesperson for Harpo Productions, you will be allowed to sit on the street and bring your own chairs if you are making a day of it, but people are going to be asked to put the chairs away and get on their feet during the actual taping. The show wants people standing during the taping.

The audience will be in the street, which is blocked off from the sidewalks by metal fences, for the full show, which show officials say will go on, rain or shine. And, in case you wanted to stake out a spot on the planters that run down the middle of the street near the stage, forget about it -- they too are blocked off by the metal fences.